Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), claimed tremendous progress in his crusade against illegal immigration, and urged the Obama administration to continue the Republican economic policies that are sending Mexicans back to Mexico.
Rohrabacher spoke to reporters as Republicans celebrated their unanimous vote against the stimulus package:
"Some people claim the Republicans economic plans have failed. Nothing could be further from the truth.
We needed to crash the real estate and construction industry to end opportunity for the illegal immigrants who were destroying our schools and health care. The Republican plan is working."
The millions who have lost the equity in their homes, or half their life savings, and the 3.6 million Americans who have lost their jobs in the last year are true patriots who are sacrificing for their country.
The last thing in the world we need is an economic stimulus plan which will put Pedro and his friends back to work."
CNN writes about one of the hundreds of thousands heading home.
Pedro Pablo slowly folds up his American flag blanket and stuffs it in his duffel bag. With it goes his American dream. Pedro Pablo, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, headed home recently due to the bad U.S. economy.
"I left my family and lost four years with them. I will ask them to forgive me," he said.
Pablo is an illegal immigrant from Guatemala who came to the United States to support his wife and five sons back home. When he arrived, construction jobs were plentiful. Over the last year, he says, he's worked three days.
He recently boarded a bus with a one-way ticket home, paid for by the Guatemalan consulate in Los Angeles. "I thought I could get ahead here. I regret coming."
Rohrabacher reflects on the history in his long battle against illegal immigrants, "There's always some collateral damage in a war, but you don't stop fighting because of casualties. You fight until you've won"
Rohrabacher considers the Republican economic crisis the second part of the two part war strategy against illegal immigrants. The first part was the Welfare to Work programs of the nineties. "First we got rid of the welfare. Then we got rid of the work."
Cross-posted at OC Progressive.